Needle.



No. 802,010. PATENTED OCT. 17, 1905.

S. A. MILLER & G. B. GILMORE.

NEEDLE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.15, 1902.

WWW 461M 6. 244. 4% a2 M 7 1 10%? d- M SILAS A. MILLER AND CHARLES SETTS, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS.

B. GILMORE, ()F BOSTON, MASSACHU- TO SAID MILLER.

NEEDLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1'7, 1905,

Application filed December 15, 1902. Serial No- 135,227.

To all whono it mjnlg concern:

Be it known that we, SILAs A. MILLER and CHARLEs B. GILMORE, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Needles, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to that class of needles in which the needle-eye is open at one side, so that the thread may be introduced laterally into the eye; and our object is to provide a needle of this class which may be effectively used in passing threads through mattresses, upholstery, comforters, or similar work. The needle which we have devised may be used for various classes of work, but is especially desirable in the class of work mentioned. This needle comprises a point-piece, in which the eye is formed, having a shank of smaller diameter upon which is mounted a sleeve constructed to close the open side of the eye when the end of the sleeve is against the shoulder at the base of the shank. In forming the opening in the side of the eye the point-piece is cut away so as to form a shoulder at the lower side of the opening, and the sleeve is provided with a lip which extends down from the end of the sleeve and bears against this shoulder when the end of the sleeve'abuts against the shoulder at the base of the shank of the point-piece. This lip completes the open side of the eye, so that the eye becomes a closed eye. The lip also supports the shoulder as the needle is thrust through the work, thereby giving the needle the same strength as though it were provided with a closed eye and avoiding danger of breaking the needle through the integral side of the eye or of springing it at this point, as would otherwise be likely to happen in forcing it through thickly-matted material. By thus supporting the-needle-point at the open side of the eye we are enabled to use a comparatively small needle with little danger of breakage. This needle may be manipulated by hand, or it may be embodied in machines which are more or less automatic in their action.

The various features of the invention will be understood from a detailed description of the construction in which we have embodied them, which is shown in the drawings.

in the drawings, Figure 1 is a side eleva tion, partly in section, showing our preferred form of needle carried by a reciprocating needle-slide and in position to be thrust through the work. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the relation of the parts after the needle has entered the work. Fig. 3 is a similar View showing the relation of the parts after the point of the needle has emerged from the work. Fig. 4 is a front elevation showing two needles carried by the slide; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on line5 5, Fig. 3.

In the construction shown the needle-eye is automatically opened and closed as the needle is thrust through the work and retracted, being opened when the eye has emerged from the under side of the work and being closed when the needle is retracted to draw it back through the work.

The needle consists of a point-piece A and a sleeve B, which is mounted onthe shank A of the point-piece. The point-piece is provided with an eye a and is cut away at one side of the eye to form an open side a for the eye. The shank of the point-piece is of smaller diameter than the part in which the eye'is formed, .so that a shoulder a is formed at the base of the shank, against which the end of the sleeve B may abut.- The sleeve is provided with a lip 6, arranged to cover the opening a and complete the side of the eye, so that it becomes a closed eye. The lip is so formed that it engages the shoulder 66 at the lower side of the opening a when the end of the sleeve abuts against the shoulder a. The lip therefore supports the point against bending or breaking at the integral side a", where it is weakest, and renders the needle as strong and as little likely to bend or break while passing through the work as is a needle of the same size having a closed eye with both sides integral.

In using the needle it is thrust through the work by thrusting on the sleeve B, the end of which acts against the shoulder a while the lip Z) closes the side of eye a and supports the shoulder (4 so that the needle passes through the work with its eye closed and with no danger of breaking or bending at the integral side a. When the needle has been thrust through the work to such an extent that the eye has emerged from the opposite side,

the eye is opened by a relative movement between the point-piece and the sleeve, which carries the lip away from the shouldera The thread is then introduced into the eye and the needle retracted by drawing on the shank of the point-piece. The pull on the point-piece first moves the point relatively to the sleeve until the shoulder (1 engages the end of the sleeve, and then the sleeve is drawn back with the point-piece. This movement first closes the eye a and then withdraws the needle through the work with the eye closed.

For the best results the sleeve should be of the same external diameter as that part of the point-piece in which the eye is formed, since with the parts thus proportioned the needle will present a continuous surface of the same diameter and may be thrust through the work with the same ease and with as little danger of catching in the material as a needle made in a single piece and having a closed eye.

As shown in the drawings, the needle is advanced and retracted by means of a reciproeating carrier D, in which the parts of the needle are carried. The sleeve B passes up through a bushing B, screw-threaded in an arm D of the carrier, and a collar B is secured to the sleeve and is arranged to play between the arm D and a second arm D on the carrier. The shank A of the needle extends up above the arm D and carries a nut A which is forced yieldingly against the upper side of the arm D by a leaf-spring A". The bushing B should be so adjusted that the collar B will engage the end of the bushing when the end of the tube abuts against the shoulder a When the carrier advances, the parts are in the positions shown in Fig. 1. When the point strikes the work, the needle is forced back in the carrier by the resistance to the-passage of the needle until the collar B strikes arm D thereby stopping the movement of the sleeve in the carrier. The needle is then forced through the work by the thrust on thesleeve B. The movement of the needle in the carrier moves the nut A away from arm D against the tension of the spring A When the lower end of the sleeve reaches the under side of the work, there is no longer any resistance to the movement of the pointpiece, and it advances under the influence of the spring A or by reason of its weight in case a spring is not used, until the nut A engages arm D Fig. 3, thereby stopping the movement of the pointpiece. This movement of the point-piece opens the eye of the needle for the reception of the thread. Wh en the carrier starts back, the sleeve B is held from movement by the work until the shoulder (0 strikes the end of tube B and the collar B engages the end of bushing B,-after which the needle is withdrawn through the work with the eye closed.

The shank A is formed to fit the bore of the sleeve for a short distanceabove the shoulder era-but is of somewhat smaller diameter for the rest of its length. This is to prevent binding of the shank in the tube in case the needle isdeflected from a straight path in passing-through the work, so that the tube is bent somewhat. In such case it might be difiicult to cause the relative movement between the point-piece and sleeve if the shank A fitted the bore of the sleeve, but being smaller than the bore this movement is not interfered with.

In forming a loop of thread through the work two needles arranged as shown in Fig. 4 may be used for simultaneously carrying the ends of the thread through the work, the middle of a length of thread being placed in the eyes of the needles when they are in the position indicated.

What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A needle having a point-piece provided with ashank of smaller diameter than the point-piece, an eye in the point-piece open at one side, and a-sleeve on the shank provided with a lip for completing the open side of the eye to form a closed eye.

2. A-needle having a point-piece, an eye therein open at one side, a shank of smaller diameter extending from the point-piece, a tube mounted on the shank and arranged to abut against the shoulder at the base of the shank, a lip projecting from the end of the tube and arranged to complete the open side of the eye when the end of the tube engages the shoulder.

3. A needle having a point-piece, an eye therein open at one side, a shoulder at the lower side of said opening, a shank for the point-piece, a tube embracing the shank and provided with a lip arranged to engage said shoulder and close the side opening.

4:. A needle having a point-piece, an eye therein open at one side, an abutment on the point-piece, a sleeve for closing the open side ofthe eye and arranged to engage the abutment, means foradvancing the sleeve to force the needle through the material, means for automatically advancing the point-piece when it emerges from the material, and means for retracting the-point-piece to withdraw the needle through the work.

5. A needle having a point-piece, an eye therein open atone side, an abutment on the point-piece, a'sleeve for closing the open. side of the eye and arranged to engage the abutment, means for advancing the sleeve to force the needle through the work, means for automatically moving the point-piece relatively to the sleeve to open the eye when the pointpiece emerges from the work, and means for retracting the point-piece to close the eye and withdraw the needle.

6. A needle having a point-piece, an eye therein having an open side, an abutment on the point-piece, a sleeve mounted on the pointpiece for closing said eye and arranged to engage the abutment, a carrier,-a stop for limiting'the movement'of the sleeve in one direction anda stop for limiting the movement of the point-piece in the other direction.

7 A needle having a point-piece, an eye having a shank A of smaller diameter and an therein having an open side, an abutment on eye a open at the side, and a sleeve B having at the point-piece, a sleeve mounted on thepointlip b for completing the open side of the eye.

piece for closing said eye and arranged to en- In testimony whereof We have affixed our 5 5 gage the abutment, a carrier, a stop for limitsignatures in presence of tWo Witnesses.

ing the movement of the sleeve in one direc tion, a stop for limiting the movement of the point-piece in the opposite direction, and a spring for holding the point-piece against its Witnesses: I stop. IRA L. FISH,

8. A needle consisting of a point-piece A KATHARINE A. DUGAN. 

